Forever May Not Be Long Enough
by SparkleAnne
Summary: Evelyn has a past of her own, can Jonathan save her before it's too late? **STORY COMPLETE**
1. Forever

This is my first Mummy fanfic, so go easy on me

This is my first Mummy fanfic, so go easy on me.I would like to know what you honestly think though.

Disclaimer:I don't own any of the movie characters yadda yadda…You get the picture.

Forever May Not Be Long Enough 

For as long as Evelyn could remember, her brother Jonathan was always the clown of the family.Even as their parents would take them along on their archaeological excursions, Evelyn would be enthralled at the opportunity to be among the places of the past, Jonathan would be forever trying to scare the heck out of her.She had to hand it to him that he could always make her see the humorous in the morbid.He was the living among the dead, forever interjecting his well-spoken opinion or wise cracks on the issues at hand.

One day, when she was only twelve years old, her father had taken them into the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities.This had not been the first, nor was it the last time that Evelyn would find herself in the museum.She had taken a book off of one of the shelves in the library, in which she was thoroughly absorbed, as her father and Jonathan went God-knows-where into the behind-the-scenes structure of the museum.Though she was extremely bookish and would more-than-likely be a librarian or an author when she grew up, she soon tired of turning pages and took the book and shelved it as the curator had taught her.Suddenly she paused and listened… A thumping sound came from behind the bookshelf behind her.She spun around in time enough to dodge several books that slid off the shelf thudded at her feet.She stared at the place from which they came, dumbfounded.She quickly stooped down and gathered the books in her arms.As she was doing this, two more books fell from their positions, one nearly hitting her head, the other skimming the back of her left leg.She reeled back in shock.

"Hey!That hurt!"She exclaimed.A moan permeated through the bookshelf, causing Evelyn to drop the books that she had been carrying and flee wide-eyed out of the library.She ran right smack into Jonathan.He reached forward and snagged hold of her arm as she careened by.

"Evy!I say, what's the hurry?"Jonathan was clearly struggling to keep a straight face while eyeing Evelyn's pallid face, but Evelyn paid it no mind because she was too busy trying to pry herself from his steady grasp.Evelyn didn't want to answer him, but after looking into his face, which had changed to be creased with worry lines, she spoke up.

"Just received a bit of a fright."Evelyn finally said.After taking a second or two to calm her nerves, she composed herself, straightened her shirt and the brown and tan, Egyptian print skirt that was a little too big for her as it was their mother's, and took a step away from her brother."It was nothing, really." Evelyn walked over to a nearby torch stand and took the torch.

"Nothing?Books practically throwing themselves down off their shelves at you are nothing?"Jonathan asked as he followed her into the ancient artifact section of the museum.Evelyn turned on him, her face flushed red.

"Oh."She glared at her reflection in a display case, not wanting to even glance at her prankster brother.The torch cast a flickering, eerie glow over her childish, heart-shaped face."Where's Dad?"She abruptly changed the topic, not wanting to let Jonathan have the opportunity to laugh at her tendency to be a bit flighty.But then again, he knew it all-to-well as he had scared her out of her wits on more than one occasion.

"He's downstairs talking to the curator."Jonathan explained, watching both his and Evelyn's reflections in the display case.Then his eyes drifted past the reflections and settled on the gold bangles that were housed within the case.He didn't see Evelyn light the torch next to him with her own and walk away towards the mummy display.

"I say, Evy.You are the easiest person to scare."

"Mmm hmm." Came Evelyn's answer.She was busy looking at the mummy of a pharaoh.Suddenly Evelyn's torch, that she had set down next to where she was standing flickered and died.Evelyn let out a scream as someone grabbed her from behind…


	2. The Mystery and Suspense

Before she could gasp for enough air to fill her lungs and scream again, a hand was clamped over Evelyn's mouth and her abductor had shuffled backwards, with her in tow.She attempted to struggle away, but her abductor was stronger.The only thing that she could do was to watch helplessly as Jonathan grabbed his torch and waved it around, lighting only a small section of the room at once.But Evelyn's attacker kept her and himself in the shadows so Jonathan never saw his sister being drugged and dragged from the room.

"Evy?Evelyn!"Jonathan called for her desperately, hoping against hope that his voice would at least frighten the man into releasing his sister.He had no such luck.Truly frightened by the thought of losing his sister, he dropped his torch in panic, letting it clatter to the floor, and ran to fetch his father."They've got Evy!"He exclaimed as he reached forth and grabbed hold of his father's arm and wrenched him away so suddenly from his work that he dropped the scarab that he'd been observing.The glass scarab that had been taken from a pharaoh's tomb, shattered into six pieces.But neither Jonathan nor his father paid it any mind…Evy was more precious to them than any ancient artifact, no matter how valuable.

As they reached the front door, Jonathan saw a rustic-looking old car racing away from the museum.Jonathan kept the car in his sight while his father went around to get his own car.As his father pulled the car up beside him, there were tears in his eyes; he had lost sight of the car that Evelyn was in.He couldn't help but think that it was all his fault… That he had let someone take his baby sister away…

"Jonathan, stay here, in case they come back."His father said as he drove off in search of the enemy.Jonathan ran back into the museum and looked for any clues that might lead him to Evelyn, or at least give him an idea as to why she was taken.As he approached the office of the curator, he could hear him talking to someone else.That's odd, Jonathan thought, there wasn't anyone else in the museum when he and his father had stormed out on their quest to get to Evelyn.Jonathan reached the door and put his ear against it.He had done this time and time again to hear the curator talk about the estimated value of the artifacts and treasures within the museum, but never had he even thought that the man would have anything to do with Evelyn's disappearance.

"What about the girl?"The curator asked.Jonathan leaned in closer to the door.They were talking about his sister, and he had to know everything. Maybe what he learned would lead him to her location.

"The girl is one of the chosen."Another man proclaimed.

"That would explain her full understanding of hieroglyphic pictograms and hieratic at the age of twelve."The curator's voice came again.

"We thank you for notifying us of her existence."The man said again.What did it mean that Evelyn was one of the chosen?Jonathan held his breath as he heard someone else approaching the office.Jonathan gathered himself and crawled away from the door to the office.He hid under a table and watched as another man walked up to the office door and entered.In the darkness of the night, Jonathan couldn't see what the man looked like.What was Evelyn chosen for?

"Where is she?"A new voice, that must have belonged to the man that Jonathan just saw enter the office, spoke up.Jonathan was alarmed.The voice was that of his father."Is she safe?"Jonathan's heart sank.Why would his Dad want to have Evelyn kidnapped?What was so important that Evelyn and himself would not be told?


	3. A Mission

"Having my daughter kidnapped was not part of the deal.You were to question her to see how much she knows, not scare both her and my son by abducting her."Mr. Carnahan said.

"We did not abduct your daughter, Mr. Carnahan."The man said.Jonathan peered into the keyhole to get a good look at the men whom his father was talking to.They all wore black robes and had tattoos all over their cheeks and foreheads.

"Then who did?"Mr. Carnahan asked, now more concerned than before.Jonathan scooted closer to the door to listen.

"He calls himself the Keeper of the Eye of Horus."The med-jai said.Jonathan's shuffling around caused the men to look up."There is someone out there.Bring whoever it is in here!"The med-jai ordered.Jonathan scrambled to his feet and ran into the library to hide.Jonathan held his breath as a huge, muscular man strode right past where he was hiding under the same table that Evy had been reading at earlier.He bit his lip and forced back a scream of pain as the man stepped on his fingers.He heard a sickening crunch as a pang of pain shot up his fingers.Finding nothing, the man turned around and went back into the office.Jonathan exhaled and then walked amid the bookshelves.He had to get some more information on this Keeper person.He approached the particular shelf that was one of Evelyn's favorite haunts.It was the shelf that she had told him contained the rare books and information about ancient Egypt.

Jonathan pulled four books off of the shelf, took them to the table, and started looking at their indexes.He found nothing, so he pushed those books away and went back and grabbed four more.Sheesh…he thought…at the rate I'm going, Evy could be dead before I even figure out if she is in danger.Jonathan tried to shake that thought from his head.He wasn't sure of what he'd do if he ever lost Evelyn.After looking at ten books and finding nothing, he figured that he'd get more accomplished if he went home and asked his mother.She was, of course, an expert on Egypt, and the one who had taught Evelyn everything she knew on the subject.

Jonathan left the books on the table and walked downstairs to the entrance of the museum.He started the walk home figuring that his father had more important issues to handle than driving him home… 


	4. The Others

As Evelyn slowly became conscious, the first thing that she noticed was that she felt a sharp stinging pain in her left leg just above her ankle as her hearing returned she heard the voices of several children talking.Evy's eyes fluttered open and she looked around.The first thing that she noticed was that she seemed to be in some sort of Bedouin house.There were indeed several other children in the room.They all stared at her, wide-eyed with curiosity.It took awhile for Evelyn's eyes adjust to the darkness in the house.When her eyes focused, she could see the others around her more clearly.Many of the children had looks of fright on their faces.

"What's going on?Where am I?"Evelyn's voice cracked, as she had not spoken for some time.Looks of sadness crossed the other children's faces.One of them, a little girl who was Evelyn's age spoke up.

"We are somewhere in the desert with a man who calls himself the keeper of the Eye of Horus, and his followers."The girl said as she knelt over Evelyn, her brown eyes locking with Evy's."We'll get away though."The girl smiled at Evy and helped her to sit up in bed.

"I don't see how you can be so optimistic, Chinga."Another girl spoke up.She had a French accent when she spoke English.Chinga turned to look at the girl who had just spoken, her shoulder-length obsidian black hair sweeping over her face as she turned.Evelyn could tell that Chinga was Egyptian by her sandy complexion.Evelyn too, turned to look at the new speaker.

"We will find a way out of here, Eliza," Chinga said to Eliza and then leaned in closer to Evy to add, "that's Eliza Gabor, the pessimist of the clan."A boy came to sit at Evy's bedside and offered his hand for her to shake.

"Hello, I'm Alexander Quick.That's Chinga Rogue and Liza Gabor."The boy said as Evelyn shook his extended hand.

"Do you know why we're here?"Evelyn asked.

"No I don't," Alex spoke up, "but it has something to do with these tattoos that they have slapped on our legs."Alex said as he put his leg up on the bed and pointed to a blue Eye of Horus tattoo.He then frowned."All of ours are the same color, but yours is red…blood-red."His voice was eerie.

"Alex, get down.They're coming!"China said.Alex winked at Evelyn and then crawled towards his own bed space.Evy quickly shut her eyes, pretending that she was asleep.She heard the sounds of the other children shuffling towards their own bed spaces.Evelyn's eyes snapped open as she felt someone take hold of her leg and gently turn it…


	5. Hope for the condemned

As Jonathan entered the house, he saw his sister Nancy sitting on the steps in the foyer.  She seemed to study the look on his face, and her expression turned to that of concern.  "What's wrong?  Where are Dad and Evelyn?"  Jonathan flashed a smile at Nancy, hoping that she wouldn't ask any more questions.  Sometimes she just couldn't keep her mouth shut, and he didn't need her words clouding up his thinking right at the moment.  He looked at Nancy for a reaction.  She stood up and walked over to where he stood.  "What happened Jonathan?  Please tell me!"  Nancy pleaded.

            "Evelyn's gone Nan."  Jonathan said.

            "Where did she go?"  Nancy asked.

            "She was kidnapped.  I need to find her.  I need to ask Mom some questions."  Jonathan tried to keep his cool.  It was going to be hard to get the information from his mother if she knew that Evelyn had been taken.  "Don't say anything about it to Mom, okay?  That's the last thing I need right now, Mom going berserk when she discovers that Evelyn has been kidnapped.  I am just going to get the information that I need and then get out of here."

            "Where will you go?"

            "To find Evelyn."

            "I want to go too!"  Nancy said as she jumped up and down.  She was up for an adventure.  "I know someone who might be able to help us."

            "Nan, you're too young to come."  Jonathan said to his nine-year-old sister.  She frowned.  "I am going to see Mom.  If you'd be so kind as to step aside and let me through, I'll see if she has any information that can help me."

            "I'll tell Mom what happened if you don't let me come."  Nancy stated flat out.  She paused and waited for his reaction.

            "We'll see."  Jonathan wasn't about to play Nan's little game, he was sick of the way that she acted sometimes.  He strolled past Nancy and into the kitchen where his mother was making dinner.  "Hey Mom.  Do you know anything about the Keeper of the Eye of Horus?"  His mother dropped the serving fork that she had held in her hand.

            "It's a man who is the founder of a cult.  They spend their time looking for people who are reincarnated royalty.  Where did you hear about him?"

            "They have kidnapped Evy, Mom."  Nancy said as she strolled into the room at that moment.  Jonathan turned to her and glared.  "Jonathan and I are going to rescue her."

            "Mom, do you know where he is?"  Jonathan asked calmly.

            "I need to call the police.  Does your father know?"  His Mom stepped over and took hold of the phone.

            "Yes, he knows, and he has a search party out looking for her.  He's at the museum."  Jonathan said.  "Just tell me where he was last seen Mom."

            "Out in Cairo."  Their mother said.  "I am going to the museum.  You two stay here."

            Jonathan rolled his eyes and watched as his mother ran out the door and took their other car.  He heard the engine start and the wheels squealing as she took off.  He turned to Nancy.  "Now see what you've done."

            "Nothing is keeping us here.  Anyways, my friends Catherine and Tristan can help us, they know their way around Cairo."  Nancy said.  "Let's go get them."

            "Do you mean Catherine and Tristan Connelly who work at the museum on the weekends?"  Jonathan asked in surprise.  He wondered how Nancy knew them; she was rarely around the museum the same time that he and Evelyn were.  Nan just nodded her head and headed for the door.  Jonathan followed behind her, wondering how she knew where they were.  It wasn't a weekend day, so they were more than likely at home and not at the museum.  Nancy led him down the street and several blocks over.  Pretty soon they were standing in front of a shabby old house, staring its occupants in the eyes.  Nancy flashed a smile at them and opened her mouth to speak, but Jonathan cut her off, knowing that she'd just ramble on and on and waste their precious time.  "Hello, we were wondering if you could help us locate the domain of the Keeper of the Eye of Horus."  Jonathan said as he eyed the piece of bread that Catherine had in her hands.  He was getting hungry, but he didn't want to waste time to eat.  Catherine and Tristan were considerably older than Jonathan, both in their twenties.  Catherine smiled and offered Jonathan some of the bread.

            "Why do you want to do that?  The Keeper is a dangerous man.  Tristan and I do our best to keep away from him."  Catherine said as she handed Nan some bread as well, and then smoothed her onyx-black hair back with her free hand.  She turned her emerald colored eyes from Jonathan to Nancy and then back to Jonathan.  Catherine's face was dotted with freckles, as she had spent most of her childhood in the Egyptian sun, though she showed no sign of a tan.  She had a button nose and gave the impression of being younger than her age of twenty-four.  Her hair was pulled back into a bun that rested atop her crown, as you'd see on most dancers.

            "They've taken my sister Evelyn."  Jonathan stammered.  He had developed a crush on Catherine earlier in the summer and was not quite over the fact that she was way too old for him.  He watched her turn her face towards her brother to get his opinion on the matter.  He was twenty-six and was built athletically.  His hair was coal black, much like his sister's, but his eyes were brown.

            "Let's get on the case."  Catherine piped up.  Her eyes showed a spark of excitement.  "Tristan and I are up for a challenge.  I hear that there are some other children from nearby villages that have gone missing as well.  We need to get to them before the Keeper makes sacrifices out of them."

            Nancy and Jonathan looked at each other and then at Catherine in horror.  Neither of them had known anything about the Keeper making sacrifices of his victims.


	6. Hope Surpressed

As Evelyn's eyes snapped open, she saw that there was a man holding onto her leg.  "Yes, she's one of them."  The man said.  He waved over another man and both of them stared at the tattoo on Evelyn's leg.  "Look, it's red.  Go tell the boss that we've found one."  Evelyn's lower lip quivered as if she was about to cry.  She quickly choked back tears and bit her lip.  There was no way that she was going to stick around to discover what all of the fuss was about.  As the second man left, Evelyn saw Alex and Chinga move up to ambush the man who had his hand on her.  Between them, they held a sheet from one of their beds.  Evelyn didn't want to give their positions away so she stared coldly at the man.  

"What do you want from me?"  She asked.  In answer, the man squeezed his hand around her ankle, digging his sharp nails into her tender flesh.  Evelyn gasped, trying to hold back a scream.  Suddenly there was a sound near the door and the handle on it turned to open.  Evelyn looked past the man holding her leg and saw looks of horror cross Chinga and Alexander's faces.  Chinga grabbed up the sheet and dove for her bed just as the door opened.  The Keeper stepped in and shut the door behind him.  There was a thudding sound.  The man looked away from Evelyn and towards the place where the noise had come from.  He saw Chinga sleeping and shrugged.  He then turned around towards the door and saw that Alex was standing in front of the Keeper.  The man let go of Evelyn and charged at Alex.

"Get back in bed boy!"  The man said as he tackled Alexander to the ground, took off his belt and raised it to smack the boy.  Evelyn saw Alex raise his hands to cover his head.  Evelyn saw the Keeper smirk at what was about to happen.  Suddenly the door burst open and another man brought in two more children.  Both of the children had blood running down their legs from newly laid tattoos.  Evelyn saw Eliza bravely get up off of her bed mat and walk over to the two new children.  She quickly said something to them just low enough so that the children would hear her, and allowed each of the children to lean on her as she escorted each of them to unoccupied beds.

"Hello my princess."  The Keeper said, addressing Evelyn.  Evelyn frowned at him.  The Keeper came nearer to her and ordered his servants to lift Evelyn up off of her bed mat so that he might have a better look at the tattoo on her leg.  His eyes glassed over as he stared at the markings on her leg.  Evelyn didn't like the way that he grinned at her.  He then turned from her to give an order to his servants.  "We need to prepare her for the ceremony."  He said.  He let his servants put Evelyn down and all of them left the room.  When everyone was gone, Evelyn looked over at the other children.

"We need to get out of here soon."  She said.  She got out of her bed and wandered over to where Eliza was tending to the two new children.  The two other children looked up at Evelyn as she stood next to them.  She extended her hand to them.  "My name is Evelyn Carnahan."  Both Alexander and Chinga crowded around to listen to what the other children had to say.  The new girl was the first to speak.  After shaking Evelyn's hand she looked towards the door in disgust.

"There have been a series of sand storms to sweep over the whole of Egypt.  You may think that this is an everyday phenomenon, but these storms are different.  There is something strange about these.  They coincide with a change in the alignment of the planets and the stars."  The girl said.  All of the children looked at each other in amazement, none of them had known anything about this.  The girl paused as if there was something she had forgotten.  "My name is Maryfaith."  The girl said after a little while.  Evelyn noted that Maryfaith had blonde hair and blue eyes, so she obviously wasn't Egyptian.  She wondered about the girl's origin.  The boy that had been brought in with Maryfaith had red hair and green eyes, so he obviously wasn't Egyptian either.  

"It looks to me like the Keeper is taking children from all over the globe."  Chinga spoke up.  She looked over at the redheaded boy.  "Where are you from?"  She asked.  The boy cleared his throat.

"Ireland."  He said.  "By the way, my name is Donovan."  Eliza helped him stand up and she finished winding a small piece of cloth around his leg to stop the bleeding.  She then turned to Maryfaith and took a piece of bed clothing in her mouth and ripped it down the center.  She then began to slowly twist the cloth around Maryfaith's leg.

"We need to get out of here quickly.  I get the feeling that if we stick around, we won't live to see tomorrow."  Alexander said as he helped Eliza finish Maryfaith's leg dressing.  Suddenly there was a shuffling sound that came from behind the door.  All of the children silently scurried back to their bed mats.  The doorknob turned and one of the servants came in carrying a white dress.  He laid it down next to Evelyn and ordered her to put it on.  He then went over to where Donovan's bedside.  When he saw that there was cloth over the tattoo, he became furious.  He took out a razor blade and cut it from the boy's leg.  Evelyn heard Maryfaith gasp and begin to undress her own wound.  The man studied the tattoo on Donovan's leg and frowned.  "Blue, like the others.  That's just too bad."  He then stood up and walked over to Maryfaith who had finished taking the cloth off of her leg and now lay completely still.  He took Maryfaith's leg in his hands and turned it over to see the tattoo.  The man smirked.  "Looks like today is my lucky day."  Evelyn was too far away to see the look of horror that crossed Maryfaith's face.


	7. The Keeper's Manor

The small group had walked to Cairo in hooded capes to keep the blowing sand out of their faces.  "This is it.  This is the Keeper's manor."  Catherine studied the manor that was in front of them with a keen eye.  There was a trellis that was covered in thorns near to where they stood.  She turned to her brother and frowned.  "They could be anywhere in there.  I'm going to scale the trellis to see if I can get close enough to look into that window."  She said as she pointed to a window that was partially covered with stained glass, about seven stories above where they stood.  The manor was overwhelmingly enormous.  Nancy began to have her doubts about coming along as she stared at the grotesque statuary that surrounded the building.  She turned her glance from one horrible thing to the next until they came to rest on what looked like a little path to a garden of some sort.  Maybe she could just wait for the others in the garden.  She didn't have time to speak up before Catherine had started climbing.  As the girl climbed, the thorns tore at her skin.  Catherine paused every-now-and-then as the thorns tore into her skin on her bare hands and legs; she bit her tongue so as to not cry out.  The wind blew fiercer the higher that Catherine climbed.  She found that when she finally reached the top of the trellis, she had to cling onto it for dear life.

"I'm afraid that she might fall."  Jonathan said as he watched as Catherine started to inch slowly towards the window.  When she reached the window, she pushed on it to see if it was open.  Seeing that it was indeed open, she turned to give the others thumbs up.  She then pushed it in enough so that she might be able to get inside.

"I'm going in, meet me at the front door, and I'll let you inside."  Catherine yelled down.  She then put both legs into the window and slipped inside the building.  Jonathan turned and looked at his sister.

"You don't look like you want to go through with this."  Jonathan said, observing the look of terror on Nancy's face.  She blushed bright red and looked away from his questioning eyes.  "Are you up for it Nan?"  He asked.  "If you're not, you can just wait out here."

"I'm ok.  I admit that that mansion gives me the creeps, but I don't want to be left out here alone."  Nancy swallowed the lump in her throat and flashed an uneasy smile.  He gaze returned to a gargoyle that was standing right beside the trellis that Catherine had just climbed.

"Ok, let's get to the front door.  We have to stay hidden in the bushes until Catherine opens the door for us.  We can't be seen, ok?"  Tristan said.  "Let's hope that she doesn't get caught."  


	8. Escape to torture

Evelyn finished putting on the white dress that had been given to her, and then she looked helplessly around.  The man who had given her the dress was standing over Maryfaith, watching her get dressed.  Evelyn frowned in disgust, didn't these creeps have anything better to do than to stand there and watch them dress?  When Maryfaith finished dressing, the man grabbed her by the wrist and brought her over to where Evelyn stood.  "Both of you girls are coming with me."  He reached forward and grabbed Evelyn around the waist.  Evelyn squirmed in discomfort.  "Now, let's move it, honey, before I decide to hurt you.  I could care less that the Keeper wants you two alive.  If either of you make one move to try to get away, I'll kill you."  The man said as he started to lead Maryfaith and Evelyn out of the room.  Evelyn looked back towards the other children, only to meet their concerned gazes.  Alexander and Chinga winked, as if to say that they were working out a plan to save both girls, as they stood there watching.  

"No!  You can't take them!"  Eliza spoke up.  The man paused long enough to look back at Eliza, who by this time was standing about fifteen feet away from him.  She stuck out her tongue at him in an act of childish pride.  While the man glared at Eliza, Chinga and Alex grabbed the blanket off of Donovan's bed mat and hurried it over to a spot out of the man's eyesight.  The man laughed wickedly at Eliza.  "You will get it later, imp!"  He couldn't shake his finger at her, as both of his hands were busy holding onto Evelyn and Maryfaith.  The man tightened his grip on both of the girls' wrists, his nails digging into their flesh, drawing blood.  Evelyn looked at Maryfaith, who had tears running down her cheeks.

"My parents will come and get me!"  Donovan shouted, catching the drift of Alex and Chinga's plan to ensnare the man in the blanket.  The man turned towards the boy.

"Your parents have no clue as to where you are.  They still think that you are in your homeland.  Well, as you can see, that's their mistake.  They will never find you in time."  The man then turned back towards the door.  Chinga and Alex took this as their chance to throw the blanket at him.  As soon as the blanket landed on his head, the man let go of Maryfaith and Evelyn, and both girls ran out of the way as Donovan, Alex, Eliza, and Chinga piled on top of the man and tied him up in the blanket.  The man let out several ear-splitting screams.

"We need to get out of here right now, the others may have heard the screams."  Alex said, out of breath.  He then rushed towards the door and pulled it open.  All of the other children followed him as he ran down a long corridor towards what looked like an exit door.  Only when they flung that door open did they realize that it was far from what they expected.  The door had opened into a bar-like room, and there were dozens of men sitting around the bar on stools.  The kids turned and ran the opposite direction, but not before the men saw them and began pursuit.  Suddenly the Keeper stepped out in front of where they were headed and stood in their path.

"Where do you think you are going?"  The Keeper grinned like a maniac.  Evelyn looked around herself and noticed that they were at the foot of a grand staircase.

"Up here!"  Evelyn called out as she started to climb the staircase, two steps at a time.  They went up, flight after flight, until they were three stories up.  When they reached the top of the staircase, they noticed that they were in a huge hall that was filled with doors.  Each child ran to a door and tried to open it, but none of the doors would budge.  The Keeper reached the top of the staircase.

"You thought that you were smart didn't you?"  He yelled at the top of his lungs, thus frightening the children.  "Well, now you will die."  He grabbed hold of Donovan and held the boy up over the top of the staircase.  Then, with all of his might, he flung the boy down to the bottom of the staircase, instantaneously breaking his neck and causing his death.  The keeper then stepped up and grabbed hold of Evelyn…


	9. Phantasms

Catherine looked around the room that she had climbed into.  She shivered as her eyes caught glimpses of horrific images and paintings on the walls and ceilings.  Her heart started pounding, and she hurried past these portrayals of demons and fallen angels, which all seemed to reach their hands out at her, attempting to grasp her cloak.  Flashes of red light that looked like a flickering fire burnt images of death into her eyes.  Everywhere she turned, she saw children dressed in white garments, covered in blood, and reaching for her.  She closed her eyes and covered them with her hands as tears struggled to escape.  The children…she thought…there were so many…so many innocent children…  "No!  He killed you all."  The words escaped her mouth as she struggled to grasp the notion of what she had just seen.  With her eyes closed, she kept walking, fighting the urge to attempt to see where she was going.  She put her hands out in front of her so if she ran into anything, then she'd be able to feel what it was and make her way around it.  As she walked, moaning assaulted her ears.  Suddenly her fingers touched something sticky.  She immediately drew her hands back in shock and opened her eyes.  She glanced down at her fingers; they were covered in a slimy red substance that looked like blood.  She looked up to see what she had touched. Before her stood a life-sized portrait of a girl that seemed to be dripping paint as if it were melting.  The girl in the painting wore a white cloak and had its hood draped gently over her head, framing her freckled face.  There were strands of black hair that fell in semi-ringlets around the girl's face, giving the impression that the majority of this painting-girl's hair was pulled back.  This painting wasn't as horrifying as the others, but there was something about it that creeped her out.  The more she looked at the painting, the more she realized what it was about it that creeped her out so much.  She was staring straight at a portrait of herself, and it seemed to be dripping blood and fading out of existence.  A shiver went up her back as she attempted to avert her eyes away from the painting, but it seemed to hold her mesmerized in place.  Suddenly it began to glow; a bright light emanated around the figure in the painting, kind of like what you'd see on a painting of a holy person.  To her surprise, the light from the painting seemed to engulf her in its astral aura.

"Lady Catherine?"  A voice came from behind her.  Catherine turned to see several of the ghostly images come closer.  "Go through the door Catherine.  You will remember who you are once you go through the door."  The voice said.  Catherine was terrified.  How did they know her name?  She looked around herself, there didn't seem to be any doors visible.  

"There aren't any doors."  Panic set in as Catherine's eyes searched the room.  Indeed, there was the open window, but there didn't appear to be any other way out.  "Let me out of here!" She felt as if she was turning in circles; as if the room was slowly closing in on her.  "No!  Please, no!"  She fell to her knees.

"Go through the painting Catherine!  Before you get trapped here for eternity.  There is only one person who can stop the Keeper of the Eye.  She is Catherine of the Nile, and she is you."  


	10. Lost in the Night

"Catherine should have let us in by now."  Jonathan said; he was beginning to get very worried.  He looked at Tristan and Nancy.  Nancy's face was pale white, and there were tears that flowed generously down her cheeks, staining them with blotches of pink-red.  She was shaking visibly, and when Jonathan caught her eye, she immediately drew the hood of her cloak around her face to shield it from view.  "Are you okay Nan?"  Jonathan asked as he crawled over to where Nan was sitting in the bushes.  Suddenly Tristan stood up and brushed off the dirt and plant debris that had accumulated on his cloak.

"I'm going in after them.  I don't know what happened to Catherine, but obviously she has run into some sort of problem, or she would have let us in by now."  Tristan said.  "You and Nan stay out here until I let you in."  Jonathan stood up in protest.

"I don't want to be left out here.  It's getting late, and the chill is starting to set in.  If you're going to go in, then we all go."  Jonathan said.  He then bent down to help Nan stand up and brush herself off.  He could tell that his little sister was petrified by the look of horror that crossed her face when he mentioned that they would go into the manor.  "It'll be okay, Nancy.  I won't let anything happen to you."  Jonathan then turned to Tristan.  "How do you propose that we get in?"

"Why don't we try the front door?"  Nancy suggested.  Both Tristan and Jonathan turned to stare at her as if she were kidding.  "Well, we never tried to see if it was unlocked…" Her voice trailed off as she bravely stepped up the stairs and wrapped her hands around the doorknob.  To her surprise, and to everyone else's, it turned and the door creaked open.  She then waited for the others to join her before she stepped inside.  Once inside, they saw Donovan's crumpled bloody body sprawled where it had landed on the floor.  Nancy gasped in horror and turned back towards the door through which they had entered.  She suddenly felt sick, and wished that she hadn't had that piece of bread earlier.  It was as if her insides threatened to lurch out of her body.  Both Jonathan and Tristan looked up to see the Keeper raise Evelyn over his head as if she were a rag doll, ready to throw her to the bottom of the stairs.

"Stop!"  Jonathan screamed, his heart leaping to his throat at the sight of his sister dangling helplessly over the banister.  The Keeper grinned evilly at Jonathan.

"Get them!"  The Keeper yelled at the top of his lungs.  Suddenly several more men stepped forth as if they had come out of the woodwork and seized hold of Jonathan, Tristan, and Nancy.  "Now you will die."  The men drew their daggers and holding them to the children's throats, lead each of them up the staircase towards the Keeper.  Several men advanced on and grabbed hold of Maryfaith, Eliza, Chinga, and Alexander, who had all been still trying with all of their might to get one of the doors in the hallway to open.  The Keeper grinned evilly.  "This time, I win."


	11. The power of One

At first Catherine hesitated.  She didn't want to step through the painting.  What if something terribly wrong happened, and the painting trapped her soul within its bounds?  What if it was a trick that the ghostly urchins were playing on her, and she ended up in some otherworldly place?  She stepped backwards and immediately hit something hard and solid.  The wall…it had closed in on her.  She turned around and looked for the window, but it was no longer there.  She was trapped!  She stared at the portrait of herself with its dripping gooey paint, like blood.  She wanted to scream, but her voice would not come.  It was as if there was some powerful being in there with her that had its hands around her throat, choking her, attempting to rob her of her very life.  She closed her eyes and started to pray silently, her lips moving to the words of the prayer, but no sound issuing forth.  When she re-opened her eyes, she could see straight through the painting.  She saw many children being held at knifepoint, and a man who was holding a girl over the banister of a very long, winding staircase.  She recognized her brother, Jonathan, and Nancy among the children who were held with knives at their throats.  She gasped in horror.  Could this image be true?  She looked past her brother and the other children and at the man who held the dangling girl, who she recognized to be Evelyn Carnahan.  The man seemed to have horns growing out of his head.  She didn't know if she wanted to step through the painting to the other side.  What if these images were lies?

Suddenly there was a burst of heat behind her, as if someone had lit a fire and it had raged out of control, temperatures rising well into the hundreds of degrees.  Catherine's robe and clothing stuck to the beads of sweat that clung to her body.  The aura that had surrounded both the picture and her grew blindingly bright, transforming the girl, and she had to shut her eyes.  Catherine stepped forward into the painting, her heart pounding…

The men that held the children captive lowered their knives and stared, mouths agape at the figure that suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway, seeming to come out of thin air.  The figure was clothed in a white robe, and light seemed to emanate from her very being.  In all of their time on the earth, the men had never seen this girl in their lives, and didn't know what to make of her.  Was she some sort of angel?  They had no clue.  They just wanted to get as far away from her as possible.  She had an air of Armageddon about her, as if she was the end-all of the conflict.  Many of the men dropped their knives, let go of the children that they had been clutching, and ran for their lives.  Several men stood their ground, particularly the ones holding onto Maryfaith, Tristan, Jonathan, and Nancy.  The Keeper grinned evilly.

"So, you have come.  I've been expecting you, my friend.  But this time, you will not win."  The Keeper said as he pulled Evelyn back towards himself so that she was no longer dangling over the banister.  "This time, the chosen ones are mine.  You cannot stop me."  The Keeper took a menacing step towards Catherine.  Catherine kept her ground.  Somehow all of this seemed familiar to her though she didn't ever recall facing this man before in her life.

"Let them go!"  Catherine spoke.  She raised her hands towards the men who still held several of the children hostage.  Suddenly without warning, bolts of pure electrical light shot forth from her hands and struck these men in their hearts, killing them instantly.  The children stayed where they were, too afraid to move, not knowing what to make of the spectacular phantasm before them.  Catherine took a step towards the Keeper.  The children had to shield their eyes to keep them from drying up and burning out of their sockets.  "Evil will never win this war.  Now let them go."  Catherine shouted.

"You are pitiful Catherine of the Nile."  The Keeper said as he kept one hand clutched tightly around Evelyn's wrist, and dragged her over to where Maryfaith stood.  "This time, I have out-smarted you.  You cannot destroy me with the pitiful electric lightning from your hands."  He then grabbed hold of Maryfaith.  Both Maryfaith and Evelyn were in a trance, and didn't seem to be fighting to get out of the Keeper's grasp.  "And now, since you barged in and ruined my little party, I'll just have to improvise."  Both Evelyn and Maryfaith's faces grew very pale, as the blood left them.  "All I need is their life force, and I'll triumph over you!  Too bad Catherine… I am already winning, and you can't stop me!"  He laughed maniacally.  Catherine went to take another step towards him, and raised her hands, ready to aim lightning at him, but found that she couldn't move…


	12. Only Time

Jonathan was speechless as he watched the whole scene unfold in front of his eyes.  First he glanced over at Tristan who was beginning to grab hold of some of the other children and attempt to move them out of the hallway.  Jonathan didn't know what to do.  He looked towards Catherine and could instinctively tell that she was having problems moving.  His glance then wandered from Catherine to both Evelyn and Maryfaith.  The Keeper held them up despite their feet not being able to support their body weight.  Both girls had gone limp and looked to be on the verge of fainting.  He looked around, wondering what he could do to help.  Tristan seemed to be able to get all of the other children safely out of the way.  Where he had taken them was a mystery to Jonathan.  Jonathan wanted to cry.  Here he was, watching his sister die, and he could do nothing.  He had really screwed this one up…  He frowned and scuffed his feet on the floor.  Suddenly he noticed one of the men's daggers on the floor right next to his feet.  He bent down and scooped it up.  He would only have one chance at this, and if he failed, he knew that Evelyn and the other girl would not live.  He probably wouldn't either.  He gulped down the lump that had formed in his throat and hurled the dagger at the Keeper.

The dagger struck the Keeper in the leg, catching him off guard.  Suddenly the hold that the Keeper had on Catherine was released and she raised her hands and aimed a lightning bolt straight at his heart.  As soon as the bolt struck the Keeper, he vanished, vanquished into Hell.  Suddenly the walls around them started to rumble.  Jonathan ran to Evelyn and scooped her limp, nearly lifeless, body into his arms.  He then ran down the stairs and towards the door.  Tristan managed to scoop Maryfaith up and carry her out the door as well before he turned around and went back in for Catherine.  

Catherine stood where the Keeper had vanished, in a state of shock.  She looked at her hands and wondered where the power that they had possessed just moments ago had come from.  She couldn't remember exactly how she had gotten to be in the same room as Jonathan and the others, and she didn't remember anything about the eerie painting.  She let Tristan take her hand and lead her out of the building.  As the manor collapsed, all of the children looked back on it, even Maryfaith and Evelyn, who were starting to recover.

Both Evelyn and Maryfaith sat down on the ground and pulled up their dresses enough so that they could observe the tattoos on their legs.  They let out huge sighs as they watched the manor collapse.  They were sitting in the middle of a graveyard, where all of the victims of the Keeper had been buried.  A shiver went up Evelyn's back as she realized how close to death she had become.  Evelyn pushed the ruffle of her dress that she had pulled up back down and stood up.  She looked over at Jonathan and Nancy, who were hovering near the other children.  Catherine was off by herself.

"They all died."  Catherine spoke up as she stood by several gravestones.  There were tears in her eyes.  "He killed them."  Her voice was choked up, and she pulled the hood of her brown cape over her face so that no one would see her tears.  Suddenly she remembered what the children in the room had called her…Catherine of the Nile…  She had heard the name only once, when she was a schoolgirl.  It was in her history book.  Catherine of the Nile was the protectress of children.  She wondered why the ghosts of the children who the Keeper had killed had called her Catherine of the Nile…  When Tristan came up behind her and threw his arms around her in a brotherly embrace, all thoughts of Catherine of the Nile left her mind.  What did it matter?  It was over.  The children trickled away one-by-one, each going his or her separate way until the only ones that were there were Evelyn, Jonathan, Nancy, Catherine, and Tristan.

"I guess that we're just going to have to watch our backs."  Jonathan said to Evelyn.  "Listen, I'm sorry for not being able to help you in the museum.  I was so scared that I panicked.  I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."  Jonathan gave Evelyn a hug.

"I just want to go home."  Evelyn said groggily.  She was tired from the whole ordeal and just wanted to get into her own bed and fall asleep.

"Me too!"  Nancy said.  "Don't worry.  I won't breathe a word of this to mom and dad." 

All three of them smiled and then waited for Tristan and Catherine to join them.  It was starting to get dark, and the graveyard was getting a little spooky.  They were all glad that it was over.  Little did they know, that the Keeper's soul had lived, and would live for all eternity.  It had gone in search of another body to possess.

THE END


End file.
